Carl J. Bon Tempo teaches courses in 20th century American political history, public policy history, immigration history, and the history of American foreign policy. Bon Tempo's current research focuses on human rights politics and policies in the U.S. from the 1970's to the present.

He is the author of Americans at the Gate: The United States and Refugees during the Cold War (Princeton University Press, 2008), which explores how and why the U.S. admitted over four million refugees between 1945 and 2000.

Bon Tempo received his doctorate in American history from the University of Virginia.